The Boston Fed’s community development area, known as the Regional & Community Outreach department, supports a paid visiting scholars program that contributes to ongoing research and policy efforts. Visiting scholarships are available for researchers for periods ranging from three months to one year.

The Bank’s community development function focuses on issues impacting low- and moderate-income communities and conducts applied policy research to compliment focus areas, which currently include our work in the smaller industrial cities arena, household financial stability, and employment opportunities. 

“Over the years, our visiting scholars have been great colleagues, contributing to policy research and collaborating with staff,” said Erin M. Graves, Ph.D., senior policy analyst/advisor and visiting scholar program manager for the Regional & Community Outreach department. “Scholars come from a variety of disciplines to develop understanding of issues and policies relevant to low- and moderate-income families and communities in New England.”

During their tenure at the Bank, visiting scholars interact with researchers and are department contributors. Scholars work on substantive research projects that are ultimately published as one of the Boston Fed’s Community Development Discussion Paper series and peer-reviewed journals, where appropriate. Additionally, visiting scholars present their work to Bank peers in both informal and formal settings.

Researchers have contributed to topics ranging from economic development in the Working Cities to analyses of racial wealth disparities. “One of the many resources we offer scholars is access to the New York Fed Consumer Credit panel,” Graves said. “This has allowed scholars to answer questions as diverse as the impact of the Community Reinvestment Act on access to credit for low-income populations and the effects of payday lending regulations.”

John Brown, Ph.D., a current visiting scholar with the Bank, and a faculty professor of economics at Clark University and research economist with the Program in Cohort Studies of the National Bureau of Economic Research, is examining contemporary issues of mid-sized older industrial cities with the Bank.

“Since visiting at the Regional & Community Outreach [group], I have enjoyed learning about the exciting blend of research and praxis that characterizes the work of the department,” said Brown. “The mix of individuals with a wide range of first-hand experience in community development issues and others who come at the problems from the starting point of scholarly literature has been a unique experience for me as an economist whose work is primarily in academia.”

The Regional & Community Outreach group accepts applications for visiting scholars on a rolling basis. For more information on the program, visit our Careers section.